Legend of Dragoon 2: Internal Disorder
by Rubedo Kukai Jr
Summary: A new era is beginning since the death of Melbu Frahma. But not all is peaceful in Endiness...the power of the Dragoons has started to transform and new enemies step into the light. Read on to find out what happens!
1. Prologue

_**Legend of Dragoon 2: Internal Disorder**_

A/N: Hello! This is my first fanfic on Legend of Dragoon, so hope you enjoy my sequel to it! Hopefully, this idea hasn't already been used by someone else so if you just happen to read it and it contains the same idea, tell me and I'll make sure to give you credit. Anyways, enough talk! Let the second story begin!

Disclaimer: I always hate typing these things. I don't own LoD. Otherwise, there would be a sequel.

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_One Year Ago…after the defeat of Melbu Frahma…_

"_Dart! Why are you leaving?"_

_The door slams open with Dart all dressed up. His usual attire of red armor and leather pants had grown a bit old for him so he decided to go with a navy shirt made of elastic protective comfortable material. He also had black pants and red boots along with his trusty sword by his left side. His trademark red headband was still on his forehead as well as some new blue shoulder guards._

_Shana was dressed in a nightgown and rushing to catch up with Dart. "Tell me why you're leaving!"_

_Dart looks at her with cloudy eyes and then quickly walks in a different direction. Shana rushes in front of him to stop him._

"_No!" She spreads her arms out wide. "You'll have to kill me to get through!"_

_Dart starts to glow with a silvery glow as a strange armor began to appear on him._

"_Hey, that's cheating!" Shana tried to grab him before he completely transformed but his wings were the first things to appear._

_Dart looked at his familiar Silver-Eyed Dragoon Armor. Something seemed different about it though…it seemed to fluctuate…as if it was reacting to something. He turned to look towards the sunrise and then flew off without looking back._

"_Dart! Please come back!" Shana falls to the ground crying, wondering why her husband didn't tell her anything and where he could be going. She prayed that he would be safe and return soon._

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_Present-Day_

Many things have happened during the following year. The nations of Serdio and Tiberoa had strengthened their bonds due to King Albert's marriage to Emille, the daughter of King Zior of the Tiberoa nation. However, shortly after their marriage, King Zior was assassinated and Emille quickly took up the throne. Because of this, Serdio and Tiberoa were soon united as one new nation, Zierdioas so that Emille and Albert could be together. However, rumors flew around stating that King Zior, Emille's father, had been assassinated because of his disagreement towards the joining of the two nations. But, the era of peace that transpired after soon swept away the dark fears that had plagued the two nations in a matter of weeks. Queen Theresa of Mille Seseau had also been assassinated a few days after Zior. Miranda of the Four Sacred Sisters took up the throne and started to make a political treaty to Zierdioas but during the signing session, she too was assassinated. Luckily, Albert and Emille were unharmed and a silent funeral was made for Miranda afterwards. The people were all shocked at these recent turn of events and started creating rumors of a conspiracy to take over the land of Endiness. However, no signs of aggression were made towards Zierdioas or Mille Seseau for the upcoming weeks. The remaining Sacred Sisters decided to elect a new candidate for the Queen and selected Iris, one of the Sovereign of the Mille Seseau Council. She finished up what Miranda started and completed the treaty, creating the Dual Alliance, something that might've been nothing but a dream before the Serdian War. The New Age that Dart and the others had worked hard to strive for was soon coming to pass. However, as you have read, Dart has left for mysterious reasons and dark clouds begin to loom over Endiness. And this is where our story begins. Heroes return and new enemies step into the light as these turns of events test the loyalties between friends, crossing the boundaries of good and evil, and the dark secrets of the Dragoon Spirits.

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A/N: What'd you think? Just a prologue about what's to come…just to make sure you know what's going on. Hope to see you next chapter…tell me what you think!


	2. Threat on the Horizon

A/N: Alright, the prologue seemed a bit long for an explanation and that's why it got its own thing. So now…without further ado…Legend of Dragoon 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon…wish I could transform into one…

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A person steps into the light and bows on one knee. He is covered in a dark blue cloak and has a sword strapped to his left hip. "What is it, Master Ledante?"

Master Ledante stands up from his throne and steps into the light in front of the cloaked figure. He has a black bandana covering his eyes. Orbs of red and purple light begin to glow from his eyes when he approaches the cloaked figure. A similar but faint glow also emanates from the cloaked figure as if responding to the person approaching him. "It seems that the time has come...the Dragoon Spirits have already sensed it."

"So would you like me to take Ritzen and Amory to recover the others?"

"Yes. And soon…we shall start a new life for this world."

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A young man steps onto the balcony overlooking the city and gazes at the sunrise. He is clad in silver armor with a green cape flowing to his feet. He sighs and hears someone from behind.

"It seems all you have been doing is sighing lately, Albert."

He turns around to face his beautiful wife, Emille. "Well, there seems to be nothing _to_ do…" He paces back and forth, a habit that he had grown into since the peace treaty was signed. The nations of Zierdioas and Mille Seseau had begun to invest in business; something that would continue to grow…leaving Albert to manage paperwork. But, that was something he could not stand. "Since that peace treaty was signed, all's been well. The people seem content with their new lifestyles and no problems have emerged."

"You should be content too! Enjoy the peace and scenery…" Emille walked to the balcony, her golden hair blowing in the wind. "Or…have you forgotten how to do that since then?"

"It has been about a year…" Albert thinks back for a second, remembering all the good times he had with the group…Meru's clinging to Dart, Rose's dry sarcasm, Haschel's humor, Miranda's bickering with Kongol about who would win between them if they fought, and Dart's attempt to keep the team sane…those were the good times. However, those times had come to an end a year ago, when they had defeated Melbu Frahma, a supposed "god" when he had absorbed the powers of the Moonchild and merged with the Virage embryo.

Things had changed though…he had heard that Dart had left Shana after they married; he witnessed Miranda being killed by assassins, but his other friends he hadn't heard from since they disbanded a year ago. He hadn't even gotten a letter. It was kind of strange and a little hard to deal with but all of them had their own lives to lead. However, Miranda's death was much harder for him to deal with…he had already lost two close friends…Lavitz and Rose. Miranda's death bothered him because the assassins had managed to elude the guards and kill her. He had sent spies to investigate on the matter but nothing had turned up. He had half a mind to investigate himself but Emille convinced him to stay by using their son, Levi, as a blackmail tool. He thought it was mean but all's fair in love and war.

"Thinking about Miranda?"

"Yes. I never would have expected something like that to happen. Another friend gone..."

Emille put a hand on Albert's shoulder. "Anything is possible in this world. But…" She stood right next to him. "I'm pretty sure that Miranda would want you to help your country in every way that you can instead of moping for her."

"That's true…but…" Suddenly, a faint glow emanated from Albert's chest. It was his Dragoon Spirit, the Jade Dragon. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

Albert goes to his spear rack and chooses one. He faces Emille with a serious look on his face. "Go back to our room and stay there until I get back."

"Why?"

"Just do it! I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Alright. Be careful." Emille runs off while Albert heads downstairs.

(_That feeling just now…it was as if the Dragoon was warning me from something…but from what…?_)

Albert walks into the courtyard and sees the bodies of his servants. The flowers are all covered with blood and the smell of it fills the air. He sees a cloaked figure in the distance with his sword out. It is covered in crimson gore.

"You!" Albert runs forward and thrusts forward with his spear. The figure blocks the attack and Albert tries to push forward and break the figure's concentration. But, to his surprise, the figure didn't budge. "Why did you kill all of them???"

"They seem content laying there." The cloaked figure knocked away Albert's spear and then quickly spun around with his sword extended. Albert quickly jumped back but part of his cape was cut off.

"Just what do you want?" A small silver glow emanates from the cloaked figure. Albert's Dragoon spirit seems to react from the glow emanating from the cloaked man. (_What? Another Dragoon??? That's impossible!_) Albert thinks for a second and then starts piecing together the situation. "How could you do this…? How could you kill innocent people…I never would've thought that you were that kind of person!"

The cloaked figure runs forward and starts attacking Albert. Albert quickly blocks the cloaked man's assault and then returns a few of his own attacks. However, the figure seemed to be able to predict all of Albert's attacks and then backflips back. Albert chases after him and starts spinning in a tornado.

"Rod Typhoon!" He spins furiously with his spear out, trying to catch the figure offguard. However, the figure easily blocked the first attack and then jumped harmlessly away.

Albert holds his spear up and stares at the figure. (_It looks like that they've gotten stronger…guess I have no choice._) He starts to focus his power into the Dragoon Spirit within him. He felt the wind surround him and the familiar Jade Dragoon armor replace his current ones. His spear became better and wings erupted from his back.

After the transformation, Albert points his spear towards the figure. "Prepare yourself! I will show no mercy!" He flies forward and wind starts to circle around him furiously. "Wing Blaster!" He shoots forward and slams into the ground where the figure was standing. A bright light envelops the entire courtyard and then vanishes after a second.

Albert was standing in a huge crater on his courtyard road while the figure was several steps back from the hole. Albert flies up and faces the figure again. (_Damnit…they've got me memorized…_)

Arrows fly out of nowhere towards the figure. He quickly jumps back and looks at who shot them. Shana is holding her bow in front of her and reaching for another on the watch tower overlooking the castle.

The cloaked figure turns to look at Albert one last time. "Two on one…maybe next time…Albert…" He vanishes in a blink of an eye.

Shana climbs down from the watch tower and approaches Albert. He rushes forward to greet her.

"Shana! What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to see you but I saw you and that person fighting." She points up to the watch tower. "I thought I could catch them offguard from up there…"

"Never mind that. How have you been? Seles starting to thrive again?"

"Little by little. But I'm pretty sure by the end of the year; Seles will finally be able to regain its former glory."

"I'm happy for you." Albert turns to go back inside the castle. "You must be tired. How about you rest at the castle and we'll discuss this when you've rested up."

"Alright. That seems like a good idea."

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"Now…focus your entire body into the fist and thrust forward!"

The students all follow their master's example and all thrust forward with their fist.

"That's a good job everyone!" He looks towards the sunset and then turns back towards the kids. "Alright, kids! That's enough practice for the day. Come back here tomorrow so that we can start our next lesson! And don't be late this time! Right, Floyd?"

The kids all laugh at him and then run off, talking about what they've learned and doing it as well.

The teacher sits down on a tree stump and looks towards the sea and the sunset. "How time changes like the flow of the sea…"

A little girl slowly walks in and stops a couple of feet away from the teacher. She is dressed in a peach dress. She has her hair up in pigtails with big pink bows on them and two big gold bracelets on her wrist. "Master Haschel?"

"What is it…?" He turns around and quickly jumps to the side. A chain blade strikes the stump where he is and then rips it off its roots. The girl waves her chain blade around and flings it at Haschel. He quickly does a backflip kick to break the stump as well as knock away the chain blade.

The girl chuckles as the chain blade returns to her right bracelet. "Wow…you're as good as they say, mister!"

"Who are you? I've never seen you before…"

"I'm Amory Collins! The last person you'll ever meet!" She opens up both of her bracelets and unleashes a chained blade from each one. They start circling around Haschel, as if they were alive. "Snakebite." The blades fly forward towards Haschel but he manages to jump back and evade the blades. He lands on the wooden railing overlooking the sea and readies himself for a fight. "Bad idea, mister!" She starts spinning around quickly causing the blades to spin like a tornado. They cut the foundations of the railing and Haschel is taken aback by this. His weight causes the railing to fall backwards towards the sea. He tries to jump back onto the platform but Amory's blades prevented that.

"No!" He falls down to the sea screaming.

Amory walks over to the edge and looks down at Haschel, who has just crashed into the sea. "That's one down! Teehee." She then puts a finger to her chin, thinking about something. "Oh no! I was supposed to take his Dragoon Spirit…what am I going to do? Ledante-kins is going to be angry with me…" She starts pacing back and forth. "I guess I'll just head to the beach then! Maybe his body will end up there…if not…more play time for me!"

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Shana suddenly darts up from bed and looks out the window. She holds her head and shields her eyes from the light. "That…felt so real…" She gets up and stretches her arms. "Haschel…I hope you're okay." She exits her room and almost bumps into Emille.

"Oh, Emille!"

"Hello, Shana! Albert's at the dining hall."

"Has he been waiting for me?"

"Oh no! He's eating."

"Thank you." She turns to go but Emille stops her.

"Oh, Shana?"

"What is it?"

"We need to go out and get you some new clothes. Those ones are a bit old…"

"You have a good point…we should go down to the market sometime."

Emille nods her head. "Once you're done, meet me at the entrance then."

Shana walks through the castle looking at the new things that Albert had added. He had a lot more of decorative designs…no doubt the work of Emille. She always was one who couldn't stand plain rooms…or in this case, plain castles. Without knowing, she had ended up in the dining hall, where Albert had just finished eating.

"Hello, Albert."

"Had a good nap?"

"Yes." She takes a seat across from Albert. "I came here because I have something important to tell you Albert. It's about Mille Seseau."

"What about it?"

"It seems that they're getting ready to start a war with us."

"A war? But the treaty…"

"It seems that they've been creating negotiations with the Winglies for the past year…and have now begun to make their move."

"The Winglies? But…I thought they wanted to live far from us humans…and what about Meru?"

"It seems that Mille Seseau has uncovered an ancient artifact that has piqued the Winglies' curiosity. And Meru? You didn't hear about her? She was exiled along with Guaraha."

"She was exiled? That's hard to believe…but…never mind that…what was this item that Mille Seseau discovered?"

"The Signet Crystal."

"Signet…Crystal? Like a Signet Sphere?"

"Yes…something like that. I'm afraid that I don't know any more details about it though. But if it is like a Signet Sphere…then we might have another Melbu Frahma on our hands."

"That…could be troublesome…" Albert folds his hands together and starts thinking. "We'll have to make preparations for war at once."

"No. That'd be reckless. If we start something now when the nations have attained peace, we might hurt the citizens' trust in you. Besides, I'm still not sure if the rumors are true about Mille Seseau…"

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"We gather up the others and find out what's going on in Deningrad. Queen Iris should be able to tell us what's going on."

"But that's crazy! What if Queen Iris is with the instigators?"

"Don't worry about that. How do you think I got the information about Mille Seseau and the Winglies?"

Albert thinks for a second. "The Sisters?"

"They're close to Iris so we can trust them. We can ask for their help when we arrive at Neet by port. Then we'll just head to Deningrad from there. The Queen Fury is still sailing, right?"

"Yeah…it is. But what happens if they attack Zierdioas while we're away?"

"We could ask Emille to take over for awhile."

"I don't know if she…" The top of the chair that Albert was sitting on breaks and falls onto the table. He turns around to see Emille with an angry look on her face. "Uh…you wouldn't mind, would you dear?"

"Of course not. But do you know where your other friends are?"

"I have a pretty good idea." Shana says. "I'm sure Haschel is back at Rouge teaching students about the Rouge art…and Meru is living in Donau right now along with Kate." She thinks for a second, making sure she had it right. "I believe Kongol is with Haschel as well. I'm not sure. And Dart…he hasn't returned yet…" Tears begin to well up in her eyes. Emille goes to comfort her and looks at Albert.

"You should go. Maybe you might find what you're looking for."

"Alright, Emille. I'm counting on you." He goes to his spear rack and chooses the best one. "Shana, you ready?"

She wipes her eyes and then nods. "Where are we going first?"

"We'll head to Donau and see if Commodore Puler is there. Hopefully, we'll run into Meru and bring her along. We'll then head to Rouge to get Haschel and Kongol and then we'll head to Neet."

Shana nods. "Alright. Let's not waste any time. Sorry Emille…we'll have to go get new clothes later…"

"I don't mind. Just be safe."

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A/N: Alright, let this story begin! Hope you enjoyed this chapter…comments and constructive criticism are appreciated!


	3. Joining Up With Meru is Never Boring

A/N: Alright, the prologue seemed a bit long for an explanation and that's why it got its own thing. So now…without further ado…Legend of Dragoon 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon…wish I could transform into one…

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Shana and Albert prepare for their journey by buying the proper equipment and items they needed in Bale and then set out. They fought a great multitude of monsters but it was no problem. They were a little rusty but soon got in the style of fighting again. Their teamwork was superb and they easily made it to the flower city, Donau, after a couple of days.

"It hasn't changed…" Shana goes up to the flowers near the entrance and takes a big whiff. "It's so lovely…"

"Yes. Emille and I went here for our honeymoon."

"Really?"

Albert nods. "It was truly amazing…but anyways, we need to get to the matter at hand."

"Right. I believe Meru is with Kate in this house…" Shana knocks on the door and it opens to reveal a fat man wearing flowers all over him.

"Who are you? Have you come seeking my Romancing Flower Dance of Love Service? It'll guarantee you a man in less than a week! Plus, it's free!"

"Um, sorry! Wrong house!" Shana kicks the man back in the house and quickly shuts the door. "Run!"

She and Albert head up to the Market Area and stop to catch their breaths.

"Just what were you thinking, Shana?! That was totally rude and out of the question!"

"I'm sorry, Albert…it's just that that man scared the lights out of me…"

Albert stands upright and starts exploring the market stands. "Maybe Meru's around here."

"Hey, wait up!"

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Amory waves her arms around while she's walking along the beach. "Hm…Mister Haschel isn't here…"

The waves rise and then slowly recede as Amory continues walking.

"He must've been swept somewhere then…" Amory then holds her hands to her mouth. "Or maybe he's at the bottom of the sea! Oh no, this is bad! Both he and Master Ledante will be mad at me…!!!" Amory starts running at top speed down the beach. "I have to find the body! I know it'll turn up somewhere!"

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"Thanks Kongol…I owe you one." Haschel picks up some leaves and puts it over his arm. "Damn…I got caught off guard by that young lady…"

"Kongol saw it." Kongol says. "Kongol see Haschel get beat by little girl."

"You don't have to put it that way…but I guess I should be counting my blessings since you were fishing in that spot."

Kongol stands up and starts poking through the bushes. "Kongol angry because Haschel scare away all the fishes. Kongol go look for healing medicines. Haschel stay put."

"Alright, alright." Haschel manages to find some nearby sticks and vines and uses it to make a poorly crafted bandage. "Guess this should be able to hold out till Kongol gets back…"

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"Man…we've looked all over the city and still haven't found her…" Shana says. She looks to the side and sees the tavern. "Hey, Albert? Let's stop here and take a break..."

"I guess that's a good idea. We can ask the people inside about Meru's whereabouts. Taverns are usually filled with information."

They head inside and take a seat at the nearby table. A bouncing waiter comes up to them and smiles. "Hello! What can I get for ya?"

Both Shana and Albert stare at the waiter before them. "Meru?"

"Shana? Albert? Hey!" Meru gives both of them a big hug. "Good to see ya!"

"It's good to see you too in that outfit of yours…" Albert says.

"Hey, don't get any ideas, Mr. King Zierdioas. You have a wife, you know!"

"Meru! I would never betray Emille's trust! Plus I don't have feelings for you!"

"I'm just kidding with ya, Albert. Anyways, what brings you here? Cheating on Emille with Shana? Dart's going to be super mad you know!"

"Meru!" Shana slams her hands onto the table and makes it crack a little. "Let's just cut if out with the jokes…and talk about this outside."

Meru shrinks back a little. "O…kay…I'll go ask for a break…just hold on a minute…"

Shana and Albert exit the tavern and head up the stairs to a platform overlooking the tavern.

Albert shakes his head. "That Meru…hasn't changed a bit."

"Well, at least it'll bring a little more exciting if Meru comes along."

"True. Things never were quiet when Meru was around."

Both Shana and Albert laugh about this when Meru walks in. "Hey, what'd I miss?"

"Oh, nothing." Albert says. "We should probably fill you in about the situation…"

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"Really? Dart left?"

Shana sadly nods. "He never told me why…we were talking about the unification of Tiberoa and Serdio…"

"Then what went wrong? I'm pretty sure he'd be jumping at that idea."

"I have no idea. He got angry when I mentioned about the peace treaty signings between Zierdioas and Mille Seseau."

"Did he not agree with it?"

"No, he did. It's just…he had this look on his face…" Shana recalled his face, that look of anger and fear mixed together. "It was almost if…he knew what would happen there."

"Miranda?"

"Yes. That's my guess." Albert says. "He might have been involved in that little incident. It might explain why it was done so precisely."

"But Dart would never do that!" Meru put her hands on her hips. "You know that as well as I do! Dart would never ever kill one of his friends in cold blood!"

Albert slowly nods. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a little bothered by Miranda's death. With that aside, will you come with us to Deningrad? We could use your help."

"Yeah, of course! Things have really gotten boring around here. I thought showing my sexy body at the tavern might bring a little life to Donau."

Shana shakes her head in disgust. "The only action you'll be seeing is guys drooling over you."

Meru scratches the back of her head in feign innocence. (_So…what Guaraha was saying was true about the alliance…if that's the case…_)

"Meru?" Shana asks. "Do you know if the Queen Fury is here? We were planning to go to Rouge to pick up Haschel and Kongol."

"Actually, it is. They were sending in some fresh supplies from Mille Seseau to put in on the market."

"Well, we should get going or else we'll miss our boat." Albert says. He starts to head off to the port.

Shana and Meru nod.

Meru swings her fist up in the air and jumps. "Let's start this new journey to find out the truth!"

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A Wingly flies through a grand hall to the woman overlooking the city of Ulara. "Mistress Charle! Someone is here to see you."

"Really? I thought I sealed off the entrance…"

She follows the servant Wingly to the person waiting in the lobby.

It is the cloaked man who attacked Albert at Bale Castle.

Charle waves off the servant. "Leave us."

"Yes, maam." He bows and then flies off.

Charle sits on the sofa and waits until everything's clear. "So, what is it that you came for? The Signet Crystal?"

"In a sense, yes. But more importantly, I've come here as an ambassador from Deningrad."

"If you're talking about the alliance against Zierdioas, then I am refusing."

"Really…" The cloaked figure stands up and looks at a painting. "What if I said there was a way to bring back your brother?"

Charle gasps. "Impossible…he died a year ago…killed by Zieg and Rose…"

"It is possible."

"So I'm guessing that the only way to do that is with Ulara's cooperation against Zierdioas…correct?"

The cloaked figure nods. "Your brother for your cooperation and the Signet Crystal."

"Give me some time to think about it."

"As you wish."

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"Kayla!" Meru waves her hands to the girl standing in front of the boat.

"Meru! And Shana and Albert too!" She runs up to them and gives them each a hug. "It's good to see you all! Have you been doing well?"

"Yes." Albert says. "Is Puler here?"

"No. He's out finishing some documents for the trade…but he should be back soon. Why, did you need to see him?"

"We wanted to ask him if he would give us a ride to Rouge…"

"Sure! We were planning to head there after we finished our business here in Donau!"

"What luck…" Meru muses.

"Want to head inside? I'm pretty sure you all want to see the new things that have happened to the Fury!"

"Really…" Shana says.

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"Alright. You have my cooperation, Mr. Ambassador."

"Good to hear. We'll be initiating the attack in a couple of days. We'll send a person here to help you out commanding the troops. I expect them to be ready by then." He turns to leave.

Charle reaches out to stop him. "Just what is it that you're after?"

This stops the cloaked figure in his tracks. He doesn't turn to look at Charle but seems to be shaking. "To tell you the truth, I have no idea. At first, I thought I did it to protect someone…but now…after coming this far, I still haven't found the reason why I even joined up with him. I think that I joined because there is a way to resurrect my father and her."

"If it's the choice you made, then I won't stop you." Charle holds out a crystal to him. "Here is the Signet Crystal that you wanted."

He takes it and puts it away in his cloak. "Thank you. I promise that I'll make sure that he will revive your brother."

"I hope you're doing the right thing."

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"Wow!" Meru's eyes are filled with stars as she looks at the new decorative designs of the Fury. It looks a lot nicer and the walls are super clean. There are all sorts of paintings and beautiful wallpaper that would send any person out of their minds. "It's so awesome! Just how did you do all of this?"

"Well…before Zior died, he put in a lot of funding into the Queen Fury to make it a lot more elegant and powerful than before. So now, it is the best ship to ever sail on the waters of Endiness!"

"With the elaborate design of a powerful exterior to repel against any enemy encounter and the development of a colorful internal decoration to raise the morale of the crew…I must say this is quite impressive." Albert states.

"Don't confuse me, Albert…" Meru holds her head. "That was just way too much!"

"I'm sorry, Meru. I was just trying to be polite."

"Then just say it looks cool!"

"It looks…cool?" Albert says slowly. "It looks…cool…it looks…..cool…"

"This is going to be a long boat ride." Meru shakes her head. "We've got to teach you to be more casual, Albert."

"You don't have to. I like the way I speak."

"It's just too formal. There's a time for that when you're at a formal reception or something…"

Shana nods her head in agreement.

"Kayla! Where are you?" Puler stops by the door outside the room. "There you are." He looks at Albert, Shana, and Meru. "So you three really are here! Where's Dart? Isn't he with you?"

Shana looks down.

"Aw, pops! Don't mention Dart!"

"Why?"

Meru goes up to him and whispers it into his ear.

"Oh…" Puler then looks at Kayla. "Tell the crew to get ready to departure! We've got a mission to do!"

Kayla salutes and then rushes out of the room.

"Like back in the days, eh? The whole group and the Queen Fury sailing along the seas to stop a war from starting that could wipe out Zierdioas!"

"That's a bit too much, pops…" Meru falls back to the couch. "Alright, Shana! It's time to teach Albert about talking cool!"

"Yeah!"

Albert holds his head. "Somehow I have a bad feeling about all of this…"

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A/N: Whew…that was hard to type. I hope that this chapter suits your tastes…please leave some comments! They're greatly appreciated…and to all a good night!


	4. Tragedy

**Ch 4: Tragedy**

"Oh, c'mon! I know you can do better!" Meru is pacing back and forth in front of Albert shaking her head in shame. "Again!"

"What's…" Albert struggles to say what Meru taught him, a simple phrase…what's up. "U…how are you doing today?"

Meru screams and has her hands on her head wanting to pull her hair out in frustration due to the rate of the lessons of Albert's progression in casual speech…zero. Meru points at Albert angrily. "Say it again! And this time, don't add any fancy words! Else you're getting it!"

Albert sighs and hangs his head down. "How long must I endure in this useless lecture of speaking casually? There is only so much one can tolerate with these so-called instructions before they are driven to mental insanity."

Meru sighs exasperatingly. "Until you stop talking like a smarty pants!"

Shana laughs. She's been enjoying watching Meru teaching Albert how to talk with great pleasure. In the beginning, she tried to help Albert off but decided that this was a lot more fun to do…watch. (_They've been at it for quite some time now…I wonder when Meru will give up?_)

Albert tries to leave the room to escape Meru's lessons of "education" but Meru stops him by standing at the door. A crewman walks by and he quickly asks, "Aren't we at Rouge yet…? Please say in a couple of minutes."

The crewman turns to Albert and responds, "Commodore Puler said that we would not be arriving at our destination for a couple of more hours."

Albert's hope of escaping was shattered and his voice showed his despair. "Oh…thank you for your assistance."

The crewman nods and walks off doing whatever he was doing before he was interrupted by Albert. Meru goes over to the bed and leaps onto it. She sighs again.

"Somehow I don't think this is working…" Meru thought out loud. "I'll have to try a different approach…"

"I'm standing right here, Meru," Albert said.

"Huh? Crap." She gets into a sitting position on her bed and puts her arms behind her head, swinging her legs back and forth. "Guess I'll let ya do whatever. I'll get you to talk like me if it's the last thing I do!"

"Thank you for understanding Meru."

Meru turns her head away and pouts. "Whatever."

Albert walks out. "I think I'm going to go out for some air."

"I think I will too. It's getting a little stuffy in here," Shana leaves as well, leaving Meru all alone in the room.

She looks around and sees that there was nothing exciting to do in the room. "I guess that might be a good idea…"

-------

Kongol extends a hand with some medicinal herbs in them. "Haschel use."

"Thanks Kongol." Haschel grabs them and starts applying them to his legs. It stung a little but nothing that the Master of the Rouge Art couldn't handle. He may be old, but he still had the strength and endurance of any strong young man like Albert. "Do you think Amory is still looking for me?"

Kongol stopped looking around and turned to Haschel. "Kongol see her but she not see Kongol."

Haschel sighs and finishes applying the herbs. "Guess she is…"

Kongol knelt down next to Haschel and took a look at his wound. It seemed to be working pretty quickly. "Haschel better?"

Haschel starts moving around his legs and then bounces up into the air. "Now that you mention it, yes…I feel great!" He starts kicking rapidly and breaks a small tree with a powerful thrust kick. "What kind of herbs did you get? These are fantastic!"

"Ones that you humans not know of," Kongol replied. He looked around again and drew his axe from his belt. "Can Haschel move and fight?"

Haschel looked at Kongol strangely and figured out his plan. "Fight? You're not thinking of taking on Amory, are you?"

"Yes. It been long time since Kongol fight seriously. It fun."

"That girl's dangerous…we can't take her lightly."

"We go." Kongol started moving deep into the forest to find his opponent of well-known strength.

Haschel reluctantly follows. "Soa…please make sure we don't get screwed."

-------

Meru is hanging out on the deck of the ship. She suddenly sees something that catches her eye and goes over to investigate. She raises her hand above her eyes and squints. She starts waving frantically with her other hand. "Hey! I can see land!"

"You mean you just noticed, Meru?" Shana asks.

Meru looks at Shana in confusion. "What? When did you see it?"

"A couple of minutes ago. You were too busy admiring the new floor of the Fury."

Meru puts her hands behind her head in a relaxed manner. "Well, can I help it if it looks that pretty like me?"

Shana smiles a fake one towards Meru and stares at the upcoming continent. (_Please be safe, Haschel. Kongol._)

A couple of minutes later, they made it to port and headed into town. Nothing had changed much except that there were a lot more people now. It was like a tourist spot but the main attraction was Haschel's Rouge school. It seemed to be attracting people from all over Endiness.

"Shana? Is that you?" A woman asks. She was a short pudgy woman with a knapsack wrapped around her back.

Shana looked at the woman and then slowly recognized who her old friend was. "Martel! It's so good to see you!" Shana hugs her. "Did the Stardust we gave you help you?"

"Of course!" Martel takes out a pouch and opens it. Inside, there is a red dust powder. "The Stardust is an excellent herbal remedy for the sick…it can cure all sorts of diseases! It's the power of the stars…that's why it's called Stardust!"

"Amazing," Meru exclaimed. She snaps her fingers. "I had no idea…I would've kept it had I known that!"

"Meru." Albert scolds.

"Uh…I meant that I would've helped people with it?"

"Well, Martel…have you seen Haschel or Kongol around lately?" Shana asks, ignoring Albert and Meru. "We're looking for them."

Martel thinks about it for a second and then points towards the mountains. "I think that…Haschel and Kongol are up training on the cliff. Their lesson to the children should've just about finished."

"Thanks for the help!" Shana waved to Albert and Meru to follow her. "It's been good to see you! Hope to see you again!"

Martel waves goodbye as the trio headed up to the training spot. To their surprise, no one was there. They noticed the cut railing and went over to examine it.

"This wood's been cut pretty good…" Meru marveled. "I'd say it was done recently."

"Then, Haschel and Kongol might be in trouble!" Shana said, starting to look around. "We have to hurry up and find them before they get hurt!"

Albert puts a hand on Shana's shoulder to calm her down. "Just calm down, Shana. We're all worried as much as you are but don't let it get to you. If we're all flustered when we meet our enemy, we might lose sight of our goal."

Shana looks at Albert and nods slowly. "Right, thanks Albert."

Albert points towards the forests below. "I'd say Haschel would most likely be in that forest below the cliff. He might've fallen from here."

"Do you think he would survive a fall?" Shana wonders.

"Of course! That old geezer is made up more than brittle bones even at his age!" Meru jokes.

Albert starts to run down the mountain and into the forest. "Let's not waste time."

Shana and Meru quickly follow after him.

-------

Kongol moved a tree branch and then pointed towards the port of Rouge. "Kongol see houses near sand."

"Alright! We made it!" Haschel and Kongol quickly run out of the forest and down the beach to the familiar territory that they felt safe in. As soon as they arrived though, they saw a girl talking with some of the locals, a girl they did not want to see.

"There they are! You don't have to worry about finding my master now!" She jumps happily over to Kongol and Haschel and stops right in front of them. "Silly me! I almost killed you but luckily, you Dragoons are built much tougher than I thought…but, now, I can finally complete my mission! Two birds with one stone!"

(_Knowing her, she wouldn't care about the townspeople…_) Haschel thought as he assumed a fighting stance. Kongol tightened his grip on his axe. (_We'll have to try and get a reasonable distance away from the village and then we can fight at full strength._)

Haschel starts to run back down the beach towards the forest. "Kongol! Follow me quickly!"

Kongol steps back a little and starts to run when he was a considerable distance from her.

Amory smiles. "Cat and mouse! Meeeow!" She chases after them with lightning speed and catches up to them in no time. She jumps in the air and then releases the locks on her blades.

"Kongol! Above!" Haschel yells.

Kongol quickly raises his axe above his head to block the incoming chain blade while Haschel backflips to escape the other blade's thrust. Amory lands in the sand and then starts spinning with her arms extended. Kongol and Haschel both jump back to dodge the blade cyclone and prepare for their next attack.

Amory stops spinning and starts walking strangely, a little dizzy from the spin. She starts swaying back and forth prompting both Haschel and Kongol to rush her while her sense of balance was distorted. However, Amory was only pretending and both of her blades lunged towards their targets. Haschel moves his head to the side to dodge and swung his fist. Amory easily jumped over it and landed on Kongol's shoulder. Kongol tries hitting her away with his left hand but she jumps away like an expert acrobatic.

As she's in the air, she spins like mad and her chain blades surge forward into the ground. Haschel and Kongol both jump back as the chain blades come from underneath the sand. Amory then lands in the water on both of her tippy toes and retracts the chain blades. "Hm, this is getting me nowhere…" Amory put a finger to her lip thinking of something.

Kongol charges forward with his axe in the air hoping to catch her off guard. She continues to think as a big Giganto was about to hit her full force. She nimbly dodges at the last second and then spins around.

Cold chains suddenly wrap around Kongol as he stops, ensnared in Amory's trap. The blades pierce his armor causing him to bellow in pain.

"Kongol!" Haschel runs forward to help his friend but is abruptly stopped when Amory spins around, using Kongol as a bludgeon. She nails Haschel in the side with Kongol and releases the chains' grip on the Giganto. They crash into the sand and it starts flying everywhere.

"Gotcha!" Amory squeals.

Haschel rolls over and holds his side. (_Damn...we're sitting chickens…_)

Amory smiles as she spins her blades around in a dance and then hurls them both at the hurt Rouge teacher and Giganto. Right when the blades were going to strike the hurt duo, they are suddenly hit by two quick flashes into the sand.

Haschel turns to look at what happened and sees Shana with her bow out. "Shana!"

Albert and Meru come out of the forest and charges towards Amory. She tries to pull them towards her but the arrows that Shana had fired had nailed them firmly into the sand. Amory jumps into the air to dodge Albert's thrust and puts both of her feet on his spear. She then raises her bracelet to block Meru's incoming blow.

Metal strikes metal and wakes up Kongol in a flash.

"Where…?" He looks around and sees Meru, Amory, and Albert in a lockdown of weapons. He feels a slight pain in his chest that Amory had pierced but it was nothing life-threatening. Kongol sees Haschel right next to him with Shana tending to his rib injury.

"Shana."

"Kongol, are you alright?" She asks.

"I fine. I go help King Albert and girl."

"Hey, I have a name you know!" Meru calls. "It's Meru!"

Kongol rushes forward and jumps into the air with the axe head lowered down for the finishing blow. Amory closes her eyes fearful of what was coming to next but then heard a clash of metal and several thuds into the sand. She slowly opens her eyes and sees a black-haired person wearing thirteen swords on his back and waist.

"Ritzen!"

Albert and Meru took a look at their new attacker. He was the one who had knocked them both away including Kongol with ease. He had thirteen swords strapped to his waist and back in a pair fashion: four swords protruding from his back, four carried on his waist belt, two strapped directly to his belt vertically, two in a slanted fashion on the back of his waist and a giant sword protruding vertically from behind his head.

(_Holy crap, that's a lot of swords…_) Meru thought, looking at each one individually. They each had their own unique design and looked like they could slice and dice anything in a flash. Meru got up and raised her hammer in a defensive stance. Albert and Kongol had also gotten up with their weapons raised.

Ritzen's gruff voice sounds from his face mask covering his mouth. "You're always getting into trouble, aren't you, Amory?"

"But you saved me!!" Amory was about to wrap her arms around Ritzen's waist in a thankful hug but was fearful of getting poked by the sheathes of the sword. So, she just hugged his arm. "Thank you Ritzy!"

Ritzen shakes her off of his arm quickly and looks at his opponents. "This isn't the time for that."

Amory played with her fingers in shame. "Sorry…"

"The last five Dragoons…" Ritzen smiles, changing his sword stance with one blade on his waist and one over his back. "I'll end your lives here." He surges forward towards Albert and Meru. The sand explodes with every step he takes towards them.

(_So fast!_) Albert thinks. He raises his spear to block Ritzen's vertical attack. Meru swings her hammer only to have it blocked by Ritzen's other blade. He swings his entire body around to throw away both the Wind and the Water Dragoon and almost cuts their legs with the swords still strapped to his body.

Albert and Meru slide across the sand and stop in front of Haschel, Kongol, and Shana. Their backs were on fire but he didn't manage to hurt them.

"You two okay?" Haschel asks getting in front of them.

"Yeah," Albert said as he got up. "He's too strong. At our current state, I don't think we can take him on by ourselves. We're going to need some serious firepower."

"It's five against two!" Meru exclaimed. "There's no way we should run! Let's just go into our Dragoon forms and beat this guy!"

Shana finishes her treatment and gets up. "It'd probably be the best idea. Kongol, can you transform?"

Kongol gets up and touches his wound. It didn't hurt much now thanks to Shana's help. "Yes. Kongol can."

"Finally!" Meru slams her hammer into the ground. "Time to transform!" A blue light starts to emanate from her chest as she does. The others also had their respective colors and powers emanating from their bodies as well with the exception of Shana.

Amory runs forward to try and stop the group's transformation but Ritzen stops her. "But Ritzy! You know how strong they get when they transform!"

"It's no problem."

Amory looks confused for a second as she watches the Dragoons finish their transformation.

"What's going on?!" Meru asks. Her familiar Dragoon armor was still there but there were some more pieces of armor; some shoulder guards, another breastplate, and some funky boots. They were made out of a crimson material which almost looked like the Red-Eyed Dragoon Armor but was lighter in color.

Albert and Haschel also suffered from the same effects; their armor had changed drastically. Haschel's gloves were bigger and his armor had more plates on it. Albert's headband had become like a bandana and his armor color changed from a dark green to a turquoise color.

Kongol seemed to be the only one unaffected. His armor had remained the same.

"Did you know about this Ritzen?" Amory asks.

He nods.

Meru tries to try out her newfound powers but nothing happens. A voice from inside her head starts communicating with her through the armor. 'You who used to wield the Blue-Sea Dragoon Spirit…you are not fit to rule this new power in your current state…'

'What are you talking about?! I was chosen by him to use his power!'

'That may be so…but I am much different than he. I am much stronger. If you think you are up to the task, come to the Undersea Passage. I will test your strength there.'

'You bet I will!'

Meru suddenly felt her Dragoon power degenerating until the armor just disappeared; the same for Albert and Haschel. It seemed that they had suffered the same fate as Meru and lost their Dragoon power. Kongol was the only one who was still in Dragoon form and unaffected by the new transformation of the Dragoon's powers.

"I can't believe that our Dragoons won't help us…" Albert thought. "Looks like our only option is to run now…hopefully, Puler and the others have the Fury ready to sail immediately."

"But, if we try to run, they'll just chase after us!" Meru points out.

Albert hangs his head down and grips onto his spear. "Looks like we have no choice…"

Everyone except Kongol looks to him. "It's risky…but Kongol, could you please try to stall them while we get on the Fury? Once the ship starts sailing, you can fly onto the Fury and this'll be over with."

Kongol quietly contemplated this and then slowly nodded. "Understood. Kongol do."

"Thanks." Albert starts running back. "C'mon everyone! We have to go!"

Haschel pats Kongol on the shoulder. "Good luck, friend." He runs after Albert. Shana and Meru both wait a little and then go.

"Don't die on us!" Meru called. She started to run faster and not look back. She prayed to Soa that he would live.

"You can do it!" Shana said.

Kongol squares off with Ritzen as they both took a step forward.

"Amory. Do not interfere." Ritzen sheathes the swords that he was carrying and then drew out two of the ones on his waist. They were a pair of the same blades, the only pair that was evident to Kongol.

(_Brother…protect me!_) Kongol flies forward at Ritzen and then straight up when he was about to strike Ritzen. He then starts to focus on channeling his Dragoon power into his axe. Slowly, it gains power until the entire blade is surging with power. He flies down with his energy attack in the air to strike Ritzen from above.

Ritzen easily jumps back before Kongol's attack. Kongol strikes the ground with immense force and releases a second attack into the sand. "Grand Stream!" The ground starts splitting into two and surges towards Ritzen who was about to land from his leap backwards. Ritzen starts spinning his swords and then slams them into the ground right as the attack was about to hit him.

-------

Shana and the others had finally reached the Queen Fury and found Puler talking with Kayla outside of the boat.

"Puler! We have to go! Now!" Albert gasps. He runs straight into the boat and onto the deck so that he could see how Kongol was doing. It took a split second for Puler and Kayla to react and they quickly ran into the boat, following after the others.

"Crew! Time to set sail! On the double!" Puler yells. All of the sailors on the Fury started working and the boat started to sail out of Rouge port.

Albert and the others made it to the deck and saw the Grand Stream attack end. Ritzen was still standing with his blades piercing the sand. Somehow, his blades had stopped Kongol's attack.

"Kongol! Come on!" Albert yells to his Giganto friend.

Kongol quickly flies towards the Fury which had started to set sail.

"Amory. Don't let him get away," Ritzen said.

"About time!" Amory swung both of her blades towards Kongol. Both chain blades were right next to him. It seemed like she missed.

"Yes!" Albert raises a fist in the air.

The chain blades then start to act on their own and wrap about Kongol's waist and pull him down into the water.

"Kongol!" Haschel cries.

Ritzen slowly pulls out of two of his back blades, one was shaped almost like a scimitar but the cross guard had split into three bars over the hilt and the other was a familiar blade that all of the Dragoons recognized.

"The Dragon Buster?!" Meru exclaimed. "That should've been destroyed with Melbu Frahma's defeat!"

Ritzen charges forward towards Kongol who had broken free of Amory's chains. It was too late to try and escape so he raises his axe in the air and then swings it as Ritzen strikes.

"KONGOL!!!!" Shana screams.

-------

A/N: Sorry for not updating this one for awhile…I've had the hardest time just trying to think what I wanted to do for certain parts of this fic…but I finally got it! Expect sooner updates since I am on the groove! Thanks for reading!


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